AngelFall by Susan Ee Quote Analysis
by Vexed Mind
Summary: ELA Project
1. Angels of Doom?

"Angels are violent creatures."

"So I noticed. I used to think they were all sweet and kind."

"Why would you think that? Even in your Bible, we're harbingers of doom, willing and able to destroy entire cities. Just because we sometimes warned one or two of you beforehand doesn't make us altruistic."

This is a dialogue between Penryn and Raffe. Penryn is the main protagonist, narrating the story. She is a post-apocalyptic survivor who just wants her 'sister' Paige back. Paige is taken by the angels of death for unknown intentions. Raffe is an archangel that had his wings amputated; he desires to reattach his wings. Oddly, Penryn partnered with the angel, a creature responsible for the utter endangerment of humans. They both are headed for the aerie, an angel outpost, hence they might as well go together. This particular dialogue intrigues me, since angels are technically known to be kind and innocent. The last things to cause an apocalypse that would come to mind are angels. Perhaps angels were as Raffe recalls, "sweet and kind", at one point. According to Penryn, the humans initiated the first offense, killing Gabriel, a messenger from God that descended over Jerusalem. After that, it was practically a one-sided war against the humans, angels mercilessly slaying humanity. It is possible that God had ordered this condemnation, and the angels are just carrying out his word. So, angels are not necessarily all sweet; they will resort to violence when offended or threatened.


	2. Foreshadowing

WARNING: Read at your own risk of spoiling the fun. :D ... Seriously, are you positive you want to? I recommend you read first.

"Five more angels swoop down on the one with the snowy angel wings. Judging by their aggressive stances, it's a fight of five against one. Its too dark to see any details on the landing angels but one of them stands out. He's a giant, towering over the rest. There's something about his wings that strike me different. Their wings fold too fast when they land for me to take a good look and I'm left wondering if there is actually was anything different about that one..."

This quote is in the third chapter of the book, quite early on. The description seems insignificant at first, however, it foreshadows what happens towards the end. In this scene, Penryn is hiding under a truck with Paige and her mother. The angel with the snowy wings is Raffe. Oddly, Raffe is an angel who is fighting other angels. When I read this for the first time, I wondered why angels fight each other. Perhaps its comparable to humans fighting themselves, for power. It turns out that among the angels there are political conflicts. If you are familiar with the Bible, you would have figured out that Raffe is an archangel since Raffe is short for "Raphael", one of the seven. Among the archangels, Uriel (referred as "The Politician") desires to be the new Messenger of God, after Gabriel was killed. So Uriel is hunting down all the archangels one by one.

There's a piece of the puzzle that fits within the ending. Notice in the quote Penryn describes one of the "angels" as towering and that his wings are distinct from the other angels. The reason why I said "angel" is because (PLOT TWIST :0) that "angel" is actually a DEMON. Unlike angels, demons have bat-like wings instead of feathery ones. Also, they are typically taller and bulkier than the average angel, I suppose. So, a valid question would be: WHAT THE HECK IS A DEMON FIGHTING ALONGSIDE ANGELS ATTEMPTING TO KILL AN ARCHANGEL? Well, it turns out Uriel, the "bad guy", hired the demon to do his dirty work of slaying Raffe, a threat to Uriel's power. In return, the demon could keep Raffe's wings, which is highly sought due to its beauty.

Well, I spoiled the ending :P . See, don't say I did not warn you. This brief description of Penryn observing Raffe's fight is a valuable clue to angel politics.


	3. Daughter of Man

"I never thought about it before, but I'm proud to be human. We're ever so flawed. We're frail, confused, violent, and we struggle with so many issues. But all in all, I'm proud to be a Daughter of Man."

Penryn says this at the end of chapter 45. In the beginning, she would describe herself as a mere monkey, only a bit more intelligent. After the angels attacked, what was left of humanity are street gangs. People lived in fear everyday, just to survive. The aspects that define humanity are lost, such as computers, a mark of our technological advancement:

"Yup," says Dolores as she sees what I'm [Penryn] looking at. "My husband always did call his electronic gadgets 'bricks' when they got phased out."

They got phased out all right. Computers were the height of our technological prowess, and now we are using them as latrine walls, thanks to the angels.

The resistance is using these computer towers as bricks for a wall! The point is, the angels took everything from the humans, turning them to stone-aged monkeys. The humans became helpless, unable to unite as one and fight against the angels. Everyone is concerned about their own survival, rather than anyone else's. Rival gangs kill each other instead of cooperating .

However, a human resistance did retaliate. Obi lead an ambush over the aerie. Although the casualties were high and the angels have godly resilience, it was considered a victory. It isn't about winning head on against the angels, but rather winning the humans back, The resistance displayed that it is possible to reclaim humanity, spreading the word to everyone.

Penryn states that we are flawed in many ways, but that makes us human.


End file.
